Antron Brown qualifies 11th

September 24

Antron Brown in the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster will open his pursuit of a fourth consecutive win out of the 11th-starting spot for Sunday’s AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals here at the Texas Motorplex.

Under the NHRA qualifying format, the 35-year-old Don Schumacher Racing driver came into today’s final two sessions without a recorded time but overcame the scorching Texas heat to make two credible runs and crack into the field of 16.

“Today we had two solid runs, getting down the track in conditions much like we’ll see on race day,” said the New Jersey native. “We were on a 3.90/3.91 run in the second round when we blew a sparkplug, so we ran it on seven cylinders. Overall, we are in very good shape for race day.”

Despite the blown plug, Brown completed his qualifying lap at 3.947 seconds, 311.63 miles per hour, bettering his earlier run when he covered the 1,000-foot strip at 3.952, 306.74 mph. The Matco Tools/U.S. Army pilot will take on 6th-qualifier Doug Kalitta who will have lane choice for the first round of final eliminations which are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CDT.

“Lane choice might be a factor here, but we just have to go out and do our own deal,” said the leader in the Countdown to the Championship standings, winner of the last three consecutive races and four of the last five. “We have to go out and race our race, regardless of who’s in the other lane and what lane he or she may be in.

“We’re in a war against every Top Fuel team, even those not in the Countdown because they want to beat those of us who are.

“When our helmets go on, we’re heading into battle and I have no friends, no teammates. When the helmet is off, I’ll root for my teammates.”